Duplicator



April 25, 1939.

F. wv sToRcK DUPL I CATOR Filed Jan. 22, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet lrovefllfbr 646713075 141163507076 April 25, 1939. w STORCK 2,155,692

DUPLICATOR Filed Jan. 22, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April25, 1939. F W.STORCK DUPLICA'IOR '3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 22, 1938 E l a PatentedApr. 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE to Standard Mailing MachinesCompany,

Everett, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 22,1938, Serial No. 186,407

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for duplicating imprinted matterformed by means of a so-called hectograph or duplicating ink, and theinvention more particularly relates to a novel printing drum and asupporting frame for the drum and the operating elements of the machine.

A machine employing the conveniently termed wet process method ofduplicating is shown and described in United States Letters Patent Re.

' 19,951. In utilizing this process of duplicating, a master copy isformed in reverse with a dissolvable copying ink and the master copysecured to a rotatable drum with the reverse characters facingoutwardly. A clear moistened sheet is engaged under pressure with themaster copy and the moisture of the sheet dissolves sufiicient of themaster character ink to form an inverse du-v plicateof the reversemaster characters.

Hereto-fore, machines of the present character, for producing duplicatecopies, have required a cost of manufacture that did not permit. oftheir being readily purchased by a large class of possible or potentialusers. In the manufacture of a practical and efficient duplicatingmachine, the operating elements of the machine must be suitablysupported in frames that are of a rigid construction so that the machineelements may be properly positioned and adjusted to function uniformlyand with an even degree of pressure. Further, the printing drum orplaten must be of a rigid construction and such that will permit ofsuitable means being assembled therewith in a manner so that the mastercopy may be easily and conveniently attached to or removed from the faceof the drum. Again, in machines of the above referred to character, itis essential that the printing drum positively rotate in a directrelation to other elements of the machine so that a clear moistenedsheet may be fed to register in proper engagement with. the master copy.Ma-

chines adapted to these conditions have heretofore been considered asrequiring a substantially heavy frame construction with a printing drumrequiring an extreme degree of workmanship in effecting a master sheetclamping device and the assembling of associated parts with or withinthe drum.

Accordingly, one of the primary objects of the present invention is toso construct and arrange elements of a duplicating machine in a mannerthat will permit of reduced manufacturing costs and without impairingthe emciency of the elements of the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a printing drum of a noveland simple construction that may be conveniently manufactured andassembled together with its immediate coacting elements. P v v A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a'supporting frame for theoperating elements of the machine that may be formed of a continuoussheet of material and in a manner that greatly assists in reducing thecost of producing the completed machine.

A still further object of the invention is to'provide the frame withdepressed areas forming ribs in a manner that increases the rigidity ofthe frame and, at the same time, enhances its appearance.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention comprises anovel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described andmore specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of thepresent novel structure with a wet process duplicating machinesufficient to enable those skilled in the art to understand theconstruction and operation thereof.

It is known that, heretofore, separate side frames for machines havebeen made that utilize a substantially lightweight sheet material andinvariably these separate side frames have required a separate base towhich the side frames are attached so as to lend rigidity to the frames.In the present instance, it has been found that a base and side framemay be integrally formed and whereby the cost of production and assemblymay be greatly reduced and facilitated.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the duplicating machine frame with theoperating elements of the machine assembled therein.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation'of the operating elements of the machine asviewed with one of the sides of the frame omitted.

Fig. 3'is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the duplicating machine printingdrum of platen with the master sheet clamp and operating means mountedtherewith.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken substantially along line 5-5, Fig.4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the detachable printing drum orplaten end, and- Fig. '7 is an end view of the detachable drum end shownat Fig. 6, viewing in the direction of arrow at, same figure.

The machine frame The frame adapted to support the operating elements ofthe duplicating machine comprises a base Ill of a suitable sheet metalmaterial with opposed upwardly extending side walls Illa formed integralwith the base I0. These side walls Illa are retained in a rigidspaced-apart relation by means of suitable tie rods or members H, [2, I3and I4. In the present frame'construction, the opposed side walls Illaare provided with depressed channels Illb that form ribs lllc extendingalong the contour of the walls Illa and, besides enhancing theappearance of the side walls, these ribs Illc effect a more rigidstructure than that formed by the sheet of material.

Operating elements of the duplicator generally indicated at l6, and tobe later de-.

scribed in detail, is rotatably supported on the shaft I5 and isprovided with a coacting pressure ,roller I! having pressure adjustingmeans associated therewith.

Rotatively mounted in the frame is a shaft I8 which has secured theretoa combined moistening and feeding roller l9. One end of the shaft l8projects beyond the side wall of the frame and is provided with anoperating lever by which the roller I9 may be rotated. Operativelyassociated with the shaft 3 and roller I9 is a gear 2| that meshes withan intermediate gear 22 that.

f in turn, engages with gear teeth 23 by which the drum I6 is rotated. Aroller 24 is rotatively supported in the frame and closely engages withthe combined feeding and moistening roller l9 and in a manner wherebythe roller 24 is frictionally driven by the combined feeding andmoistening roller Was this roller I9 is rotated.

When the roller I9 is rotated, by the lever 20 or other suitable means,the face of the roller I9 receives a thin film of moisture from a wick25 that has one edge thereof in engagement with the peripheral face ofthis roller and its opposed edge portion in engagement with a supply offluid maintained in a suitable fluid receptacle 26. r

A duplicating machine substantially embodyiing operative elements of theabove general charreferred to patent Re. 19,951.

acter, and their functions in producing a duplicate copy of matterformed in reverse with a suitable copying ink on a master copy, isillustrated and. described in detail in the previously Further detaileddescription of the machine elements and their functions is thought to beunnecessary in view of the above and they are generally illustrated forthe purpose of showing their cooperative relationship with the hereinpresent improvements and are not intended as limiting the im-vprovements thereto.

The printing drum or platen present instance, with areas I 61), I60increased in thickness for a purpose to be hereinafter described. Thedrum shell wall Ilia is provided with an integral end wall IBd having ahub I69 with a bore l6 for engagement with the supporting shaft IS. Adetachable end wall 21 is adapted to be secured to the opposed end ofthe shell wall lBa so as to form a substantially en- ;closed drumchamber l6g within the drum. This detachable end 21 may be attached tothe shell end wall by means of screws or the like (not shown) thatengage with threaded bores 28 in the increased thickness areas l6b ofthe shell. This permits the shell wall l6a to be relatively thin,although it is obvious that this wall may be of a suflicient thicknessto accommodate the threaded bores 28, or other suitable and well knownmeans may be employed for detachably securing the end 21 to the endannulus shell wall l6a.

It is to be noted that, in order to further reduce the manufacturingcosts of the printing drum or platen, the gear teeth 23, by means ofwhich the drum is rotated, are formed integral with the detachable endwall 21.

The opposed end walls Hid, 21 are preferably provided with openings lBh,21a that permit a limited access to the drum chamber, when the drum isassembled, and further lighten the completed drum structure.

Master sheet clamp communicates with the interior chamber I6g of thedrum by means of equi-spaced openings 30 so as to permit the dependingextensions 3la of the clamp members 3| to engage in the drum chamber16g. These clamp members 3| have a pivotal bearing against the bottom ofthe longitudinal slot 29 and each depending extension 3Ia thereof isattached to one end of a pull spring 32, the opposed ends of the springs32 being attached to a stationary rod 33 suitably connected to theopposed drum ends lid, 21. are preferably disposed in an angularposition so as to effect a pivotal seating of the-clamp members 3|,together with eifecting a resilient pivot for the extensions 3la and,when in operative position, cause the outer edges 3Ib of the clampmembers 3| to closely engage with one sid Wall 29a of the longitudinalslot 29.

An operating rod 34 is rotatably supported in the drum chamber andlongitudinally disposed The springs relative to the clamp memberextensions 31a. 1

One end of the operating rod 34 extends outwardly beyond one end of thedrum and is provided with an operating knob 34aor like device by meansof which the rod 34 may be rotated when desired.

Suitably secured to the rod 34 is a cam member 35 that is adapted toengage with the extensions 3la, when the rod 34 is rotated, to actuatethe clamping members 3| in the slot or recess 29. A sheet clampingdevice of the above character is fully shown and described in UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 2,093,385, issued September 14, 1937,therefore further detailed description of the herein illustratedclamping device is thought to be unnecessary as it sufficiently pointsoutthe,

advantages of the present novel drum structure in permitting of aconvenient assembling of the elements within the drum.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A duplicating machine having a frame formed of a continuous sheet ofmaterial formed to a desired contour and comprising a base and sidewalls extending upwardly from opposed sides- 2. A duplicating machinehaving a frame formed from a single sheet of material of a desiredcontour and including a base and side walls extending upwardly fromopposed sides of said base and adapted to support the operating elementsof said machine, a channel formed along the edges of said side walls,together with members extending between said opposed side walls.

3. A duplicating machine having a frame integrally fashioned from asingle sheet of material and including a base and integral side wallsextending upwardly from opposed sides of said base and adapted tosupport the operating elements of said machine, said frame havingdepressed areas therein to fbrm ribs in said frame, together withseparate tie members extending between said opposed side walls.

4. A duplicating machine including, in combination, a frame, a printingdrum having a substantially continuous peripheral face and rotatablymounted in saidframe with means for rotating said drum, means forsecuring a master copy to said drum, elements mounted in said drum andoperably associated therewith, a pressure roller mounted in said drumand adapted to coact with the face of said drum with means for adjustingthe pressure of said roller relative to said drum, said drum embodying asubstantially continuous cylindrical face wall with an integral endwall, together with a detachable opposed end wall with means forsecuring said last end wall to said cylindrical wall.

5. The combination as recited in claim 4 wherein one ofv said opposeddrum end walls has a driving member formed integral therewith with meansengaging with said member and whereby said drum is rotated.

6. A duplicating machine having a rotatable printing drum formed with asubstantially continuous cylindrical wall with a longitudinal slotextending through said wall and an integral end wall forming a chamberwithin said drum, elements assembled within said chamber and operablyassociated with said drum, a detachable end wall for said drum andchamber that permits assembling said elements within said drum chamberwith means for securing said last end wall to said drum, one of said endwalls having driving means integral therewith with other means engagingwith said driving means and whereby said drum is rotated. I

7. A duplicating machine having a rotatable printing drum formed with asubstantially continuous cylindrical wall with a longitudinal slotextending through said wall, said cylindrical wall having opposedapertured end walls forming a substantially enclosed chamber'within saiddrum, elements assembled within saiddrum chamber and operably associatedwith said drum, at least one of said end walls being detachably securedto said drum to permit removal thereof and whereby operations may beperformed within said drum chamber.

FREDERICK W. STORCK.

